Keeping children emotionally safe in school

Schools can play an important role in promoting children’s awareness of emotional safety by exploring how we behave towards other people and why. It is beneficial to discuss why we are kind and care for each other and identify the feelings this may evoke. Children need to trust that the adults in school will protect them from harm in order to feel emotionally safe at school. This can be achieved by a clear and consistent policy for dealing with bullying and ensuring it is implemented by all staff. Schooldays can be the best or worst days of our lives and some of this is affected by friendships and peer relationships. It is essential that all children across school understand that any form of bullying is not acceptable and that staff understand that children who bully need urgent help.

It can be useful to consider how your school responds to children who are late arriving at school. If a child is late to a primary school then it is not their fault, although some parents may try and convince you that it is. For a child who is late, the embarrassment and shame of having to walk into their class when the lesson has already started is enough for them to have to deal with. Imagine how we as adults feel if we are late for training or a conference and have to walk into a room, consider how difficult this can be for children to manage, especially if it happens on a regular basis.